Epistle for September 10, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Romans 13:8-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul articulates the same royal law of love (James 2:8) taught by Jesus and later by his brother James.  Jesus declares that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in the commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Here, Paul focuses exclusively on the horizontal expression of the law of love that deals with human relationships.  Interestingly, he argues that the Christian should be free of any sense of indebtedness except the debt of love:

 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This is part of a larger discussion of Christian responsibility.  Paul insists that the grace-filled life of the Christian means true liberty from legalism — but in contrast, he does acknowledge that freedom must be exercised responsibly.  In relation to governing authorities, paying taxes, honor and respect to those in authority, Paul says this:

Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake (Romans 13:5).

Thus the Christian, though free, is still to live as a responsible and conscientious citizen of the city or nation in which he or she may find themselves.

Paul’s next discussion of the law of love in relation to the Mosaic law is interesting.  We are reminded that he has presented a very nuanced view of the Mosaic law throughout the theological portion of Romans, arguing that the law is holy and just and good but also arguing that the law itself has no power to save us, nor can anyone except Jesus perfectly fulfill the law.

But the Christian who has been saved by grace through faith, and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is also empowered to love.  And all of the Mosaic law, including the Ten Commandments are fulfilled in the law of love:

 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

It is important to note that this law regarding love of neighbor is an Old Testament law from Leviticus 19:18. Paul has never repudiated the law and the prophets, only their false interpretations.  Note also that the four commandments Paul specifically cites from the Decalogue relate to our horizontal relationships with other human beings.

And there is an urgency to his exhortations about how Christians are to live.  His view of time is eschatological.  One doesn’t know when time will end, so it is imperative to live well:

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, and the day is near.

Paul is not engaging in any apocalyptical speculation so rampant today.  He is simply stating the obvious — that every day one is closer to the end of the age. And that day is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is a call to wakefulness and awareness, because, as Jesus teaches:

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes… Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:42,44).

In light of this awareness, that the day is near, Paul exhorts us:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

His imagery contrasts night and day, with darkness suggesting behavior that is associated with night-time revels (drunkenness and sexual debauchery) as well as interpersonal conflict (strife and jealousy).  And light becomes a palpable thing — the armor of light that we are to put on clothes us with protection.  Indeed, he extends the metaphor, that we are to put on Christ ­— like the light, Christ is to envelop us.

And Paul reminds us of a metaphor that prevails throughout Scripture — we are to walk properly, as in the day.  The imagery of walking with God, and walking in God’s ways, is scattered throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.  And it is readily apparent that walking is far easier in the light than in darkness!  We are to:

 walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7).

We also see the contrast of flesh and spirit, and are reminded of Paul’s earlier declaration:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

Making provision for the flesh and its lusts leads to death; the Spirit leads to life and peace.

APPLY:  

The law of love is at the heart of Christian ethical teaching.  The New Testament appropriation of this principle insists that it sums up all the law and the prophets.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jesus or Paul or James are negating the Old Testament law, but that love is the foundation for obedience to the law.

Do we go to church out of duty, or because we love God? Do we tithe because it is a rule, or because it is a measured means of expressing our love? Do we visit the sick or feed the hungry because we were told to do so, or because we care?  The answer is pretty clear — we do these things, and obey the principles of the law not because they are legalisms, but because they offer guidance in loving God and neighbor.

Augustine of Hippo once said:

Once for all, then, a short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will… let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good (Augustine’s Homily 7 on 1 John 4:4-12).

There is an irrefutable logic here:

• If you love, you won’t commit adultery, which damages entire families, not just the two people involved.
• If you love, you won’t murder — the ultimate unloving act.
• If you love, you won’t steal — depriving someone else of the right to their own property is a selfish, unloving thing to do.
• If you love, you won’t covet — covetousness is the inner root of dissatisfaction that leads to envy and jealousy and lust and disharmony with others and ourselves.

It is impossible to think of an instance when love fails to fulfill the proper regard between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and within our own mind and soul.

The Apostle John sums it up this way:

We love him, because he (God) first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we love, we become most like God.

RESPOND: 

Many years ago when I was in college I had a roommate who had been recently saved.  He was zealous in his church attendance and in his witnessing to others.  But I remember one time having a conversation with him about the love commandments of Jesus, and the commandments of love that permeate all the Scriptures.

He seemed completely puzzled.  This conversation was at least ten years prior to Tina Turner’s troubling song, “What’s love got to do with it?”  But that seemed to be his attitude — what’s love got to do with being a Christian?

I was every bit as puzzled by his attitude as he was by mine.  Christianity without love is like walking in the total darkness of night.  Christianity without love is like living in the world of Fight Club instead of a loving family.  Christianity without love makes religion into a set of rules instead of a Spirit-led walk with God guided by the principle of love.

When we forget to love as God has loved us, we forget that we too have been those unlovely and unlovable selfish broken creatures for whom Christ died:

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Our Lord, your command to love is inspiring, but impossible without your love living and working in and through us.  May we walk in your light and bring others into your light as well. Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"Romans 13:12" by ~Pawsitive~Candie_N is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for January 29, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Micah 6:1-8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah.  In fact, some of his language and imagery closely parallels the language of Isaiah.  Micah reveals his context at the beginning of his oracles:

Yahweh’s word that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem (Micah 1:1).

This era would have covered the years 742 to 686 B.C.  Micah himself was from Morasheth in Judah which was near the border of Philistia, about 25 miles from Jerusalem.

He was prophesying to both the Northern Kingdom of Israel (aka Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah in a time of deep anxiety.  In 735 B.C., King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel formed an alliance against King Ahaz of Judah and besieged Jerusalem.  Other nations, such as Philistia and Edo, were taking advantage of Judah’s vulnerability.  A desperate Ahaz appealed to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria for help.

The Assyrian king did “help” — he helped himself to Syria and to part of the Northern Kingdom known as Galilee.  Then in 721 B.C., another Assyrian king known as Sargon conquered Israel/Samaria and deported its people from their land.  And then the Assyrians under Sennacherib’s leadership began a campaign against Judah, capturing cities in this remaining kingdom, and besieging Jerusalem itself in 701 B.C.

Much of Micah’s prophetic career and writing were intended to warn Israel and Judah that they must repent and turn from idolatry and social injustice, and turn back to Yahweh.

This is the context of this week’s lectionary text for the Old Testament. In Micah 6, Yahweh is summoning his people to a kind of court hearing, demanding that they plead their case in the presence of the mountains which surround them.  Yahweh has a grievance against his people, and he asks them:

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you?
Answer me!

Then Yahweh reminds his people of all that he has done for them — he has delivered them from bondage in Egypt; he sent great leaders to guide them — Moses, Aaron and Miriam — who were the epitome of greatness and devotion to Yahweh.  These two brothers and their sister led Israel from Egypt, through the wilderness, and provided the framework for Israel’s law and worship.

Micah also alludes to an encounter that occurred during those early years of Israel’s history, when Israel was drawing closer to the Promised Land of Canaan during their wandering in the wilderness. Yahweh says:

My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of Yahweh.

This is a reference to events recorded in the book of Numbers, when Israel was preparing to enter Canaan from the east.  They were required to travel through the region of Moab, and Balak was apprehensive because Israel had already defeated the Amorites in battle.  So Balak sought out a Moabite prophet named Balaam, and tried to bribe him to curse the Israelites.  But Yahweh instead put words of blessing in Balaam’s mouth instead of cursing (cf. Numbers 22-24).

The reference to Shittim and Gilgal are geographical reminders of Yahweh’s providential care of Israel — Shittim was the final encampment of the Israelites east of the Jordan river, and Gilgal was their first camp on the west bank of the river.  This was a shorthand way of saying that Yahweh had guided his people all the way from Egypt, through the wilderness, and in the transition to the promised land.

So, rhetorically, Yahweh is asking Israel — which of these blessings that I have provided for you are you unhappy with?  Obviously, the answer should be — none of them!

So, Micah begins to answer Yahweh on behalf of Israel.  He does this through a series of rhetorical questions:

How shall I come before Yahweh,
and bow myself before the exalted God?

Micah’s questions begin reasonably enough, but soon become preposterously exaggerated and even horrible: 

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams?
With tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience?
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

His last question is obviously outrageous — Micah knows that human sacrifice is a feature of the worship of the Canaanite god Molech, and is expressly forbidden in the Law (cf. Leviticus 20:1-5).

And then Micah answers his own question by summing up what Yahweh requires.  Essentially, he suggests none of the above.  Instead, Micah says God has made clear what he wants from his people:   

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

This triad of requirements sums up the ethical and spiritual values of the Mosaic Law and the prophets — justice and mercy cover human relations and how human beings are to treat one another.  To walk humbly with God suggests a personal relationship with Yahweh — we note that Micah doesn’t mention temple sacrifices, except in a somewhat satirical fashion as mentioned above.  Walking humbly with God is more than ritual observance — it is relationship.

APPLY:  

This passage presents one of the most famous passages in Scripture:

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

First, though, we must remember that our ethical and spiritual response is grounded not in what we do, but in what God has done.  Micah has made it clear that Yahweh is the redeemer and deliverer of his people by reminding them of their liberation from slavery in Egypt, and his fulfillment of his promise to lead them into the Promised Land.  This is a reminder to us as Christians that we are the recipients of God’s grace.  We must never lose sight that the heart of the Biblical message is what God has done for us, not what we have done for God or ourselves.

Second, there is the summary of the response required from us.  It is simple, but not necessarily easy — a little like Jesus’ summary of Old Testament Law:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).

These “Great Commandments” provide a picture of our vertical and horizontal requirements — vertical requirements cover our relationship with God, and the horizontal requirements cover our relationship with other people.  The key word is “relationship.”  Love for God and neighbor (and yes, even for enemy) are not abstract, but relational.

Micah’s summary is also relational.

• Justice has to do with treating others fairly, impartially and equally — corporately and individually.
• Mercy has to do with compassion, feeding the poor, helping the helpless, caring for the sick and the vulnerable.
• Walking humbly with God is about cultivating a personal relationship with God — not excluding public worship but also including personal prayer and dependence on God on a daily basis.

In these three simple requirements we may find a wide application to our lives in terms of social justice, care for the environment, comfort and care for the sick, the poor, the hungry; all grounded in our deep relationship with God.

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite pastimes is walking.  My wife and I walk five or six days a week, if at all possible, and we prefer to walk in one of our state parks, sometimes for two or three hours at a time.

I have found this to be one of my primary means of grace.  During these walks in the woods especially, my wife and I are usually very quiet, alone with our own thoughts.  These are times of deep prayer for me, and often times when insights come through most clearly.

So, I resonate with Micah’s language about doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.  It doesn’t take long to figure out that this metaphor of walking with God is deeply embedded in the Biblical lifestyle.  Many of the great figures of Scripture are described as people who walked with God.

• Enoch, Abraham, Isaac (cf. Genesis 5:24; 17:1; 48:15).
• Moses appeals to the Israelites to walk in the law of God (cf. Exodus 18:20).
• Jesus declares that those who follow him will walk in the light (cf. John 8:12).
• Paul tells the Galatians that they are to walk in the Spirit, with the fruits of the Spirit that will result (cf. Galatians 5:16).

I pray that I will continue to walk with God in such a way in my daily life that I reflect God’s justice, mercy and love every day.

Lord, I am grateful first of all for the grace that you have poured out in my life through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and that you continue to pour out in my life through your Holy Spirit.  I pray that you will empower me to treat others with justice and mercy, and to walk humbly with you all the days of my life.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“WFW Micah 6:8” by chelled is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 6, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Romans 13:8-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul articulates the same royal law of love (James 2:8) taught by Jesus and later by his brother James.  Jesus declares that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in the commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Here, Paul focuses exclusively on the horizontal expression of the law of love that deals with human relationships.  Interestingly, he argues that the Christian should be free of any sense of indebtedness except the debt of love:

 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This is part of a larger discussion of Christian responsibility.  Paul insists that the grace-filled life of the Christian means true liberty from legalism — but in contrast, he does acknowledge that freedom must be exercised responsibly.  In relation to governing authorities, paying taxes, honor and respect to those in authority, Paul says this:

Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake (Romans 13:5).

Thus the Christian, though free, is still to live as a responsible and conscientious citizen of the city or nation in which he or she may find themselves.

Paul’s next discussion of the law of love in relation to the Mosaic law is interesting.  We are reminded that he has presented a very nuanced view of the Mosaic law throughout the theological portion of Romans, arguing that the law is holy and just and good but also arguing that the law itself has no power to save us, nor can anyone except Jesus perfectly fulfill the law.

But the Christian who has been saved by grace through faith, and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is also empowered to love.  And all of the  Mosaic law, including the Ten Commandments are fulfilled in the law of love:

 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

It is important to note that this law regarding love of neighbor is an Old Testament law from Leviticus 19:18.  Paul has never repudiated the law and the prophets, only their false interpretations.  Note also that the four commandments Paul specifically cites from the Decalogue relate to our horizontal relationships with other human beings.

And there is an urgency to his exhortations about how Christians are to live.  His view of time is eschatological.  One doesn’t know when time will end, so it is imperative to live well:

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, and the day is near.

Paul is not engaging in any apocalyptical speculation so rampant today.  He is simply stating the obvious — that every day one is closer to the end of the age. And that day is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is a call to wakefulness and awareness, because, as Jesus teaches:

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes…. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:42,44).

In light of this awareness, that the day is near, Paul exhorts us:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

His imagery contrasts night and day, with darkness suggesting behavior that is associated with night-time revels (drunkeness and sexual debauchery) as well as interpersonal conflict (strife and jealousy).  And light becomes a palpable thing — the armor of light that we are to put on clothes us with protection.  Indeed, he extends the metaphor, that we are to put on Christ ­— like the light, Christ is to envelop us.

And Paul reminds us of a metaphor that prevails throughout Scripture  — we are to walk properly, as in the day.  The imagery of walking with God, and walking in God’s ways, is scattered throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.  And it is readily apparent that walking is far easier in the light than in darkness!  We are to:

 walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7).

We also see the contrast of flesh and spirit, and are reminded of Paul’s earlier declaration:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

Making provision for the flesh and its lusts leads to death; the Spirit leads to life and peace.

APPLY:  

The law of love is at the heart of Christian ethical teaching.  The New Testament appropriation of this principle insists that it sums up all the law and the prophets.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jesus or Paul or James are negating the Old Testament law, but that love is the foundation for obedience to the law.

Do we go to church out of duty, or because we love God? Do we tithe because it is a rule, or because it is a measured means of expressing our love? Do we visit the sick or feed the hungry because we were told to do so, or because we care?  The answer is pretty clear — we do these things, and obey the principles of the law not because they are legalisms, but because they offer guidance in loving God and neighbor.

Augustine of Hippo once said:

Once for all, then, a short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will….let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good (Augustine’s Homily 7 on 1 John 4:4-12).

There is an irrefutable logic here:

• If you love, you won’t commit adultery, which damages entire families, not just the two people involved.
• If you love, you won’t murder — the ultimate unloving act.
• If you love, you won’t steal — depriving someone else of the right to their own property is a selfish, unloving thing to do.
• If you love, you won’t covet — covetousness is the inner root of dissatisfaction that leads to envy and jealousy and lust and disharmony with others and ourselves.

It is impossible to think of an instance when love fails to fulfill the proper regard between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and within our own mind and soul.

The Apostle John sums it up this way:

We love him, because he (God) first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we love, we become most like God.

RESPOND: 

Many years ago when I was  in college I had a roommate who had been recently saved.  He was zealous in his church attendance and in his witnessing to others.  But I remember one time having a conversation with him about the love commandments of Jesus, and the commandments of love that permeate all the Scriptures.

He seemed completely puzzled.  This conversation was at least ten years prior to Tina Turner’s troubling song, “What’s love got to do with it?”  But that seemed to be his attitude — what’s love got to do with being a Christian?

I was every bit as puzzled by his attitude as he was by mine.  Christianity without love is like walking in the total darkness of night.  Christianity without love is like living in the world of Fight Club instead of a loving family.  Christianity without love makes religion into a set of rules instead of a Spirit-led walk with God guided by the principle of love.

When we forget to love as God has loved us, we forget that we too have been those unlovely and unlovable selfish broken creatures for whom Christ died:

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Our Lord, your command to love is inspiring, but impossible without your love living and working in and through us.  May we walk in your light and bring others into your light as well. Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"'Put on the Armor of Light' ~ Romans 13:12" by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for February 2, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Micah 6:1-8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah.  In fact, some of his language and imagery closely parallels the language of Isaiah.  Micah reveals his context at the beginning of his oracles:

Yahweh’s  word that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem (Micah 1:1).

This era would have covered the years 742 to 686 B.C.  Micah himself was from Morasheth in Judah which was near the border of Philistia, about 25 miles from Jerusalem.

He was prophesying to both the Northern Kingdom of Israel (aka Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah in a time of deep anxiety.  In 735 B.C., King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel formed an alliance against King Ahaz of Judah and besieged Jerusalem.  Other nations, such as Philistia and Edo, were taking advantage of Judah’s vulnerability.  A desperate Ahaz appealed to King Tiglath-Pileser of  Assyria for help.

The Assyrian king did “help” — he helped himself to Syria and to part of the Northern Kingdom known as Galilee.  Then in 721 B.C., another Assyrian king known as Sargon conquered Israel/Samaria and deported its people from their land.  And then the Assyrians under Sennacherib’s leadership began a campaign against Judah, capturing cities in this remaining kingdom, and besieging Jerusalem itself in 701 B.C.

Much of Micah’s prophetic career and writing were intended to warn Israel and Judah that they must repent and turn from idolatry and social injustice, and turn back to Yahweh.

This is the context of this week’s lectionary text for the Old Testament.   In Micah 6, Yahweh is summoning his people to a kind of court hearing, demanding that they plead their case in the presence of the mountains which surround them.  Yahweh has a grievance against his people, and he asks them:

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you?
Answer me!

Then Yahweh reminds his people of all that he has done for them — he has delivered them from bondage in Egypt; he sent great leaders to guide them — Moses, Aaron and Miriam — who were the epitome of greatness and devotion to Yahweh.  These two brothers and their sister led Israel from Egypt, through the wilderness, and provided the framework for Israel’s law and worship.

Micah also alludes to an encounter that occurred during those early years of Israel’s history, when Israel was drawing closer to the Promised Land of Canaan during their wandering in the wilderness. Yahweh says:

My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of Yahweh.

This is a reference to events recorded in the book of Numbers, when Israel was preparing to enter Canaan from the east.  They were required to travel through the region of Moab, and Balak was apprehensive because Israel had already defeated the Amorites in battle.  So Balak sought out a Moabite prophet named Balaam, and tried to bribe him to curse the Israelites.  But Yahweh instead put words of blessing in Balaam’s mouth instead of cursing (cf. Numbers 22-24).

The reference to Shittim and Gilgal are geographical reminders of Yahweh’s providential care of Israel — Shittim was the final encampment of the Israelites east of the Jordan river, and Gilgal was their first camp on the west bank of the river.  This was a shorthand way of saying that Yahweh had guided his people all the way from Egypt, through the wilderness, and in the transition to the promised land.

So, rhetorically, Yahweh is asking Israel — which of these blessings that I have provided for you are you unhappy with?  Obviously, the answer should be — none of them!

So, Micah begins to answer Yahweh on behalf of Israel.  He does this through a series of rhetorical questions:

How shall I come before Yahweh,
and bow myself before the exalted God?

Micah’s questions begin reasonably enough, but soon become preposterously  exaggerated and even horrible: 

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams?
With tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience?
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

His last question is obviously outrageous — Micah knows that human sacrifice is a feature of the worship of the Canaanite god Molech, and is expressly forbidden in the Law (cf. Leviticus 20:1-5).

And then Micah answers his own question by summing up what Yahweh requires.  Essentially, he suggests none of the above.  Instead, Micah says God has made clear what he wants from his people:   

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

This triad of requirements sums up the ethical and spiritual values of the Mosaic Law and the prophets — justice and mercy cover human relations and how human beings are to treat one another.  To walk humbly with God suggests a personal relationship with Yahweh — we note that Micah doesn’t mention temple sacrifices, except in a somewhat satirical fashion as mentioned above.  Walking humbly with God is more than ritual observance — it is relationship.

APPLY:  

This passage presents one of the most famous passages in Scripture:

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

First, though, we must remember that our ethical and spiritual response is grounded not in what we do, but in what God has done.  Micah has made it clear that Yahweh is the redeemer and deliverer of his people by reminding them of their liberation from slavery in Egypt, and his fulfillment of his promise to lead them into the Promised Land.  This is a reminder to us as Christians that we are the recipients of God’s grace.  We must never lose sight that the heart of the Biblical message is what God has done for us, not what we have done for God or ourselves.

Second, there is the summary of the response required from us.  It is simple, but not necessarily easy — a little like Jesus’ summary of Old Testament Law:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).

These “Great Commandments” provide a picture of our vertical and horizontal requirements — vertical requirements cover our relationship with God, and the horizontal requirements cover our relationship with other people.  The key word is “relationship.”  Love for God and neighbor (and yes, even for enemy) are not abstract, but relational.

Micah’s summary is also relational.

• Justice has to do with treating others fairly, impartially and equally — corporately and individually.
• Mercy has to do with compassion, feeding the poor, helping the helpless, caring for the sick and the vulnerable.
• Walking humbly with God is about cultivating a personal relationship with God — not excluding public worship but also including personal prayer and dependence on God on a daily basis.

In these three simple requirements we may find a wide application to our lives in terms of social justice, care for the environment, comfort and care for the sick, the poor, the hungry; all grounded in our deep relationship with God.

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite pastimes is walking.  My wife and I walk five or six days a week, if at all possible, and we prefer to walk in one of our state parks, sometimes for two or three hours at a time.

I have found this to be one of my primary means of grace.  During these walks in the woods especially, my wife and I are usually very quiet, alone with our own thoughts.  These are times of deep prayer for me, and often times when insights come through most clearly.

So, I resonate with Micah’s language about doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.  It doesn’t take long to figure out that this metaphor of walking with God is deeply embedded in the Biblical lifestyle.  Many of the great figures of Scripture are described as people who walked with God.

• Enoch, Abraham, Isaac (cf. Genesis 5:24; 17:1; 48:15).
• Moses appeals to the Israelites to walk in the law of God (cf. Exodus 18:20).
• Jesus declares that those who follow him will walk in the light (cf. John 8:12).
• Paul tells the Galatians that they are to walk in the Spirit, with the fruits of the Spirit that will result (cf. Galatians 5:16).

I pray that I will continue to walk with God in such a way in my daily life that I reflect God’s justice, mercy and love every day.

Lord, I am grateful first of all for the grace that you have poured out in my life through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and that you continue to pour out in my life through your Holy Spirit.  I pray that you will empower me to treat others with justice and mercy, and to walk humbly with you all the days of my life.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“WFW Micah 6:8” by chelled is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 10, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Romans 13:8-14

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul articulates the same royal law of love (James 2:8) taught by Jesus and later by his brother James.  Jesus declares that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in the commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Here, Paul focuses exclusively on the horizontal expression of the law of love that deals with human relationships.  Interestingly, he argues that the Christian should be free of any sense of indebtedness except the debt of love:

 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This is part of a larger discussion of Christian responsibility.  Paul insists that the grace-filled life of the Christian means true liberty from legalism — but in contrast, he does acknowledge that freedom must be exercised responsibly.  In relation to governing authorities, paying taxes, honor and respect to those in authority, Paul says this:

Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake (Romans 13:5).

Thus the Christian, though free, is still to live as a responsible and conscientious citizen of the city or nation in which he or she may find themselves.

Paul’s next discussion of the law of love in relation to the Mosaic law is interesting.  We are reminded that he has presented a very nuanced view of the Mosaic law throughout the theological portion of Romans, arguing that the law is holy and just and good but also arguing that the law itself has no power to save us, nor can anyone except Jesus perfectly fulfill the law.

But the Christian who has been saved by grace through faith, and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is also empowered to love.  And all of the  Mosaic law, including the Ten Commandments are fulfilled in the law of love:

 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

It is important to note that this law regarding love of neighbor is an Old Testament law from Leviticus 19:18.  Paul has never repudiated the law and the prophets, only their false interpretations.  Note also that the four commandments Paul specifically cites from the Decalogue relate to our horizontal relationships with other human beings.

And there is an urgency to his exhortations about how Christians are to live.  His view of time is eschatological.  One doesn’t know when time will end, so it is imperative to live well:

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, and the day is near.

Paul is not engaging in any apocalyptical speculation so rampant today.  He is simply stating the obvious — that every day one is closer to the end of the age. And that day is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is a call to wakefulness and awareness, because, as Jesus teaches:

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes…. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:42,44).

In light of this awareness, that the day is near, Paul exhorts us:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

His imagery contrasts night and day, with darkness suggesting behavior that is associated with night-time revels (drunkeness and sexual debauchery) as well as interpersonal conflict (strife and jealousy).  And light becomes a palpable thing — the armor of light that we are to put on clothes us with protection.  Indeed, he extends the metaphor, that we are to put on Christ ­— like the light, Christ is to envelop us.

And Paul reminds us of a metaphor that prevails throughout Scripture  — we are to walk properly, as in the day.  The imagery of walking with God, and walking in God’s ways, is scattered throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.  And it is readily apparent that walking is far easier in the light than in darkness!  We are to:

 walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7).

We also see the contrast of flesh and spirit, and are reminded of Paul’s earlier declaration:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

Making provision for the flesh and its lusts leads to death; the Spirit leads to life and peace.

APPLY:  

The law of love is at the heart of Christian ethical teaching.  The New Testament appropriation of this principle insists that it sums up all the law and the prophets.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jesus or Paul or James are negating the Old Testament law, but that love is the foundation for obedience to the law.

Do we go to church out of duty, or because we love God? Do we tithe because it is a rule, or because it is a measured means of expressing our love? Do we visit the sick or feed the hungry because we were told to do so, or because we care?  The answer is pretty clear — we do these things, and obey the principles of the law not because they are legalisms, but because they offer guidance in loving God and neighbor.

Augustine of Hippo once said:

Once for all, then, a short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will….let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good (Augustine’s Homily 7 on 1 John 4:4-12).

There is an irrefutable logic here:

• If you love, you won’t commit adultery, which damages entire families, not just the two people involved.
• If you love, you won’t murder — the ultimate unloving act.
• If you love, you won’t steal — depriving someone else of the right to their own property is a selfish, unloving thing to do.
• If you love, you won’t covet — covetousness is the inner root of dissatisfaction that leads to envy and jealousy and lust and disharmony with others and ourselves.

It is impossible to think of an instance when love fails to fulfill the proper regard between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and within our own mind and soul.

The Apostle John sums it up this way:

We love him, because he (God) first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we love, we become most like God.

RESPOND: 

Many years ago when I was  in college I had a roommate who had been recently saved.  He was zealous in his church attendance and in his witnessing to others.  But I remember one time having a conversation with him about the love commandments of Jesus, and the commandments of love that permeate all the Scriptures.

He seemed completely puzzled.  This conversation was at least ten years prior to Tina Turner’s troubling song, “What’s love got to do with it?”  But that seemed to be his attitude — what’s love got to do with being a Christian?

I was every bit as puzzled by his attitude as he was by mine.  Christianity without love is like walking in the total darkness of night.  Christianity without love is like living in the world of Fight Club instead of a loving family.  Christianity without love makes religion into a set of rules instead of a Spirit-led walk with God guided by the principle of love.

When we forget to love as God has loved us, we forget that we too have been those unlovely and unlovable selfish broken creatures for whom Christ died:

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Our Lord, your command to love is inspiring, but impossible without your love living and working in and through us.  May we walk in your light and bring others into your light as well. Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"'Put on the Armor of Light' ~ Romans 13:12" by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for February 19, 2017

Crittenden County Courthouse in Marion, Arkansas photographed by Thomas R Machnitzki.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 119:33-40

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

In this acrostic Psalm, this section begins with the Hebrew letter Hey, the fifth letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  This section continues the overall theme of Psalm 119 by focusing on the value of the law.

In this instance, the Psalmist petitions Yahweh to teach him the statutes of the law and the commandments so that he may:

keep them to the end.

The end in mind presumably refers to his life — in other words, he wishes to live his entire life under the guidance of God’s law.

He pleads for understanding, so that he may obey it with his whole heart; he wishes to walk in the path of the commandments because he delights in them.  This metaphor of the path is familiar in the Scriptures.  Walking with God is a recurring image that describes a lifestyle devoted to one’s relationship with God.  The Psalmist suggests that the path of God’s commandments is the means to that end.

He is also anxious to avoid taking the wrong path, and he sees the law as the guide to avert that.  He says:

Turn my heart toward your statutes,
not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things.
Revive me in your ways.

Worthless things is a vague phrase, which can apply to anything that has no value and distracts from the things that lead the Psalmist to God.  Jeremiah has a fascinating description of what happens when worthless things become too important:

Yahweh says,
“What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me,
that they have gone far from me,
and have walked after worthless vanity,
and have become worthless?” (Jeremiah 2:5).

The Psalmist continues his petitions:

Fulfill your promise to your servant,
that you may be feared.
Take away my disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.

The Psalmist has continued his intensely personal supplication, but we note his correlation — when God fulfills his promises to the Psalmist, God will be honored.

Finally, he exclaims exuberantly:

Behold, I long for your precepts!
Revive me in your righteousness.

Again, the correlation is clear — obedience to the law brings new life in a righteous relationship with God.

APPLY:  

We all live by certain principles — a code, if you will.  The laws that God has given are principles that lead to a certain way of life. The ultimate goal is to be holy as God is holy (cf. Leviticus 19:1 — the Old Testament reading for this week’s lectionary). 

If we understand that the law by which we are to live is summed up by the law of love, we have found the key to all of the laws.  Then we can share the enthusiasm of the Psalmist, who says:

Give me understanding, and I will keep your law.
Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart.

RESPOND: 

At the Crittenden County Courthouse in Marion, Arkansas,  there is an inscription above the entrance. It says “Obedience to the law is liberty.”

This seems to be a paradoxical statement.  Doesn’t the law control us, and prevent us from doing some things? Well, yes, but on the other hand it prevents others from violating our rights and freedoms as well.  Where the laws of the state are obeyed under a just government, there is freedom from injustice and inequality.

But God’s law is the supreme law. And his law guides us into holiness and love.   There is a line in a prayer from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer that echoes this sense of paradox — that where there is obedience to God there is perfect freedom. Let that be our prayer:

O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies. Amen. ( Anglican Book of Common Prayer, p. 17)

PHOTOS:
"Marion, Arkansas. Courthouse." by Thomas R. Machnitzki is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.

Old Testament for January 29, 2017

Start with Scripture:

Micah 6:1-8

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah.  In fact, some of his language and imagery closely parallels the language of Isaiah.  Micah reveals his context at the beginning of his oracles:

Yahweh’s  word that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem (Micah 1:1).

This era would have covered the years 742 to 686 B.C.  Micah himself was from Morasheth in Judah which was  near the border of Philistia, about 25 miles from Jerusalem.

He was prophesying to both the Northern Kingdom of Israel (aka Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah in a time of deep anxiety.  In 735 B.C., King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel formed an alliance against King Ahaz of Judah and besieged Jerusalem.  Other nations, such as Philistia and Edo, were taking advantage of Judah’s vulnerability.  A desperate Ahaz appealed to King Tiglath-Pileser of  Assyria for help.

The Assyrian king did “help” — he helped himself to Syria and to part of the Northern Kingdom known as Galilee.  Then in 721 B.C., another Assyrian king known as Sargon conquered Israel/Samaria and deported its people from their land.  And then the Assyrians under Sennacherib’s leadership began a campaign against Judah, capturing cities in this remaining kingdom, and besieging Jerusalem itself in 701 B.C.

Much of Micah’s prophetic career and writing were intended to warn Israel and Judah that they must repent and turn from idolatry and social injustice, and turn back to Yahweh.

This is the context of our lectionary text for the Old Testament.   In Micah 6, Yahweh is summoning his people to a kind of court hearing, demanding that they plead their case in the presence of the mountains which surround them.  Yahweh has a grievance against his people, and he asks them:

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you?
Answer me!

Then Yahweh reminds his people of all that he has done for them — he has delivered them from bondage in Egypt; he sent great leaders to guide them — Moses, Aaron and Miriam — who were the epitome of greatness and devotion to Yahweh.  These two brothers and their sister led Israel from Egypt, through the wilderness, and provided the framework for Israel’s law and worship.

Micah also alludes to an encounter that  occurred during those early years of Israel’s history, when Israel was drawing closer to the Promised Land of Canaan during their wandering in the wilderness. Yahweh says:

My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of Yahweh.

This is a reference to events recorded in the book of Numbers, when Israel was preparing to enter Canaan from the east.  They were required to travel through the region of Moab, and Balak was apprehensive because Israel had already defeated the Amorites in battle.  So Balak sought out a Moabite prophet named Balaam, and tried to bribe him to curse the Israelites.  But Yahweh instead put words of blessing in Balaam’s mouth instead of cursing (cf. Numbers 22-24).

The reference to Shittim and Gilgal are geographical reminders of Yahweh’s providential care of Israel — Shittim was the final encampment of the Israelites east of the Jordan river, and Gilgal was their first camp on the west bank of the river.  This was a shorthand way of saying that Yahweh had guided his people all the way from Egypt, through the wilderness, and in the transition to the promised land.

So, rhetorically, Yahweh is asking Israel — which of these blessings that I have provided for you are you unhappy with?  Obviously, the answer should be — none of them!

So, Micah begins to answer Yahweh on behalf of Israel.  He does this through a series of rhetorical questions:

How shall I come before Yahweh,
and bow myself before the exalted God?

Micah’s questions begin reasonably enough, but soon become preposterously  exaggerated and even horrible: 

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams?
With tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience?
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

His last question is obviously outrageous — Micah knows that human sacrifice is a feature of the worship of the Canaanite god Molech, and is expressly forbidden in the Law (cf. Leviticus 20:1-5).

And then Micah answers his own question by summing up what Yahweh requires.  Essentially, he suggests none of the above.  Instead, Micah says God has made clear what he wants from his people:   

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

This triad of requirements sums up the ethical and spiritual values of the Mosaic Law and the prophets — justice and mercy cover human relations and how human beings are to treat one another.  To walk humbly with God suggests a personal relationship with Yahweh — we note that Micah doesn’t mention temple sacrifices, except in a somewhat satirical fashion as mentioned above.  Walking humbly with God is more than ritual observance — it is relationship.

APPLY:  

This passage presents one of the most famous passages in Scripture:

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

First, though, we must remember that our ethical and spiritual response is grounded not in what we do, but in what God has done.  Micah has made it clear that Yahweh is the redeemer and deliverer of his people by reminding them of their liberation from slavery in Egypt, and his fulfillment of his promise to lead them into the Promised Land.  This is a reminder to us as Christians that we are the recipients of God’s grace.  We must never lose sight that the heart of the Biblical message is what God has done for us, not what we have done for God or ourselves.

Second, there is the summary of  the response required from us.  It is simple, but not necessarily easy — a little like Jesus’ summary of Old Testament Law:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).

These “Great Commandments” provide a picture of our vertical and horizontal requirements — vertical requirements cover our relationship with God, and the horizontal requirements cover our relationship with other people.  The key word is “relationship.”  Love for God and neighbor (and yes, even for enemy) are not abstract, but relational.

Micah’s summary is also relational.

• Justice has to do with treating others fairly, impartially and equally — corporately and individually.
• Mercy has to do with compassion, feeding the poor, helping the helpless, caring for the sick and the vulnerable.
• Walking humbly with God is about cultivating a personal relationship with God — not excluding public worship but also including personal prayer and dependence on God on a daily basis.

In these three simple requirements we may find a wide application to our lives in terms of social justice, care for the environment, comfort and care for the sick, the poor, the hungry; all grounded in our deep relationship with God.

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite pastimes is walking.  My wife and I walk five or six days a week, if at all possible, and we prefer to walk in one of our state parks, sometimes for two or three hours at a time.

I have found this to be one of my primary means of grace.  During these walks in the woods especially, my wife and I are usually very quiet, alone with our own thoughts.  These are times of deep prayer for me, and often times when insights come through most clearly.

So, I resonate with Micah’s language about doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.  It doesn’t take long to figure out that this metaphor of walking with God is deeply embedded in the Biblical lifestyle.  Many of the great figures of Scripture are described as people who walked with God.

• Enoch, Abraham, Isaac (cf. Genesis 5:24; 17:1; 48:15).
• Moses appeals to the Israelites to walk in the law of God (cf. Exodus 18:20).
• Jesus declares that those who follow him will walk in the light (cf. John 8:12).
• Paul tells the Galatians that they are to walk in the Spirit, with the fruits of the Spirit that will result (cf. Galatians 5:16).

I pray that I will continue to walk  with God in such a way in my daily life that I reflect God’s justice, mercy and love every day.

Lord, I am grateful first of all for the grace that you have poured out in my life through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and that you continue to pour out in my life through your Holy Spirit.  I pray that you will empower me to treat others with justice and mercy, and to walk humbly with you all the days of my life.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“WFW Micah 6:8” by chelled is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.